Connected 31

CONNECTED TO MUSIC & MOVIES Issue No. 31 Summer 2015

Product PAGE 14 Spotlight Kimber Kable Silver Streak

PAGE 16

Optimising your grounding

PAGE 10

NEW PowerPak Pro-USB™ PAGE 8

PR SU OM M M IN O ER SI TIO DE N ! S

Customer System

“I was in utter shock. I had heard this track at least a hundred times. I thought I knew every string-pluck, every inhalation, every noise.

I was wrong. Now I heard completely new sounds, new emotions, new instruments.

It was as if there was more air between the instruments, air in the instruments, the whole sound was relaxed but more urgent and emotional...

I couldn’t stop grinning!”

Mr N Partridge, West Sussex

LIGHTWEIGHT

BY

|

RIGID

|

CUSTOMISABLE

www.russandrews.com Call UK Orderline 01539 797300 Buy online at

Russ Andrews is the sole UK retailer of Kimber Kable International Tel +44 (0)1539 797300

Mail Order Direct • 60 Day Cable Home Trial • Cable Upgrade Scheme • Free Delivery (orders over £100 within UK Mainland)

Welcome

EDITORIAL

phone the very next For me, the stand-out Russ morning. “The postman Andrews product of the last 12 delivered that fuse this months has to have been our morning and I’ve SuperFuses. 13A mains installed it in the mains plug SuperFuses cable on my amplifier” were introduced in he said. “Could I May 2014 (followed order another eight?” later by 10A and 5A versions) and I can’t And so went the remember when any single SuperFuses majority of one of our products has conversations. I’ve lost generated such delight from count of the number of customers those who have taken the plunge who ordered one and then called and tried one. In case you are back very soon to order fuses for wondering what all the fuss is the rest of the their system. And about, let me explain…

I’ve lost count of the number of

In this issue...

Regulars Editorial

3

First Words

4

News

5

Dalton‘s Deliberations

22

Letters

20

Competition

26

Features Become an expert: Grounding

10

SuperFuses are our standard mains plug fuses that are specially treated with Super Burn In (that’s the bit that makes them SuperFuses). The Super Burn In process had to be specially adapted for mains plug fuses but after many tests and prototypes, Russ eventually perfected the process. Under test, they gave outstanding performance. We sent some to customers to audition, tried them extensively in our own systems (all with the same results) and eventually released them to a largely unsuspecting public last year.

times I’ve been told that the SuperFuses have given the biggest upgrade a customer has ever experienced.

Customer System

16

Buzzes, Hums, Clicks & Pops

18

One of Us

25

I don’t, as a rule, take too much time to read online forum comments, but I am aware of a small number of individuals who can’t - or don’t want to - believe that such as small thing as a mains plug fuse could make the level of difference that our customers say. From reading some of the online comments, it’s clear that those with the strongest views haven’t actually tried a SuperFuse in their system.

And Finally...

27

Following their launch, a customer would typically call to ask if they made a difference. I usually just encouraged them to try one in their own system and assess their performance. A few people went away to “have a think about it”, but the braver ones bought one, on the understanding that they could return it if they couldn’t hear an improvement in the sound. I think the first customer I spoke to who bought one to try was on the

I’m aware that every system is different and the SuperFuses may perform differently in one system than it may in another, but that’s exactly why we offer a 60 Day Trial to test them in your own system at home. Me? I prefer to keep an open mind, sit back and enjoy the better sound with my SuperFuses! ■

20% off Ringmat Products

John Armer, Editor

Products New Products

7

Product Spotlight: Kimber Silver Streak

14

Recent Reviews

23

Summer Promotions Supplement

Centre Pullout 28

Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2b Moreland Court, Westmorland Business Park, Shap Road, Kendal LA9 6NS, UK. © Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2015. E & OE. Any views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the company.

john.armer@russandrews.com Issue 31 Summer 2015 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 3

RUSS’S FIRST WORDS

Beyond High Resolution

I was more than a little encouraged (delighted, in fact) to read Robert Harley’s fine first-part review of Meridian MQA (Master Quality Authenticated). MQA is Meridian’s new digital-audio encoding and decoding system.

I was especially pleased to read the paragraph (reproduced right, from the May/ June 2015 issue of The Absolute Sound ) describing the importance of rhythm and timing in the reproduction of music. It is, after all, what I have been banging on about for the best part of 40 years. It was so good to hear it stated by one of the world’s leading digital audio design companies.

Meridian’s history of DVD-A , Lossless Packing, apodising filters and now MQA prove to me that they are the ones who really understand it best and know how to preserve it in the digital domain.

Let me repeat what I have said before, “without the rhythm and timing to make it musical, it is just noise”. ■

“

In my view, MQA’s most important characteristic is not that it can deliver high resolution at a low bit rate (although that aspect is what will gain it widespread adoption), but rather that it sounds better than any other format extant, analog or digital. Meridian maintains that the standard metrics for digital audio – sample rate and the number of bits in each sample – are far less important than two new metrics 1) absolute stability of the noise floor and 2) the amount of ‘temporal blur’ in the digital system.

This last term describes the smearing of transient information over time by digital filters. Temporal blur affects the sounds’ timing precision. That is, music’s transient energy is spread out, appearing before and after the transient.

Meridian has previously addressed this problem of filter ‘ringing’ with its ‘apodizing’ filter, a technique now commonly used. The apodizing filter doesn’t remove ringing (temporal blur); rather, it kills the incoming ringing and replaces it with its own ringing that occurs only after the transient, which is less sonically objectionable. MQA’s new techniques outright remove temporal blur rather than making it less sonically objectionable.

Meridian’s pursuit of techniques to increase timing precision was inspired by recent findings in psychoacoustics and neuroscience. [Meridian‘s] temporal blur target of 10µs [roughly 30 times lower than the temporal blur of regular 192kHz / 24 bit PCM and much lower than that of CD] is based on this research. The AES paper [which explains several aspects of MQA] is full of citations to psychoacoustics and neuroscience literature.

Timing is so important because our hearing mechanism is acutely tuned to impulsive sounds for instantly determining the ‘where, then what’ of the object creating the sound. The distortion of these vital cues by temporal blur diminishes the sense of musical realism in a variety of ways.

Many thanks to Robert Harley for permission to reproduce part of his article MQA: Beyond HighResolution from the May/June 2015 issue of The Absolute Sound. The Absolute Sound’s website is theabsolutesound.com

4 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 31 Summer 2015

”

News

NEWS

Delivery News A date for your diary...

New UPS Access Points All UK mainland orders over £100 value can now be delivered, if you wish, to a secure access point rather than to your home. Access points are usually shops and newsagents chosen by UPS, our carriers, that are close to your home or work (usually within one mile in towns and cities). This means that you don’t need to wait in for the carrier – UPS will notify you when your parcel has been delivered to the access point, and you simply call in and collect the parcel at your own convenience.

There is no extra charge for this service.

How to specify an Access Point delivery To arrange a delivery to an access point (and to find out where your access point is), contact our sales team on 01539 797300. We will be able to advise you of the address and its opening times and arrange delivery to the access point for you. You cannot currently specify an access point delivery on orders placed on russandrews.com. If you wish to take advantage of this service with an order you have placed online, contact us as soon as possible after placing your order.

Call us on 01539 797300

Come and see us at the National Audio Show, Whittlebury Hall, Milton Keynes, Northamptonshire on September 19th & 20th. We’ll have a range of our cables to see (and hear) and the team will be on hand to answer your questions and give tips and advice. The show website is: chestergroup.org/nationalaudioshow /2015 There’ll be more information about the show closer to the time on russandrews.com, or just give us a call on 01539 797300. We look forward to seeing you there!

New CD lens cleaner We’ve been introduced to a new type of CD lens cleaner that’s really effective at cleaning the laser lens of a CD player. From the same manufacturer of our Blu-ray disc lens cleaner, this new CD lens cleaner features 10 micro-fibre optical grade brushes for an efficient clean. Use every couple of months or so to ensure you keep your lens free from dust.

CD Lens Cleaner Code: 5034 £10.00

Issue 31 Summer 2015 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 5

News

NEWS

Shorter PowerMax Plus™mains cables

We have a quantity of short, 0.4m length PowerMax Plus™ mains cables. The shorter cables are particularly suitable for connecting mains filters such as the Ultra Purifier or Clarity-4 and Clarity-8. They work well if your PowerBar mains extension is very close to your wall socket too.

These shorter PowerMax Plus™ cables feature a moulded mains plug and a rewirable 10A or 16A IEC as pictured.

LIMITED STOCK

We have limited quantities of these short cables, so do order early if you want one.

0.4m PowerMax Plus mains cable Code: 1530

£35.95

At the Bristol Show

Although we didn’t attend the Bristol Show in person, we were delighted to support the Multi-Room company / RPD distribution in their demonstration of Heed and Parasound electronics with Cabasse and ProJect source equipment. Two systems were powered via our PowerKords and PowerBlock;

interconnects were a mixture of Kimber Select KS-2020 and Kimber OPT-1 digital and Kimber Silver Streak analogue, and Kimber Select speaker cables (the KS3033 and KS-3035) connected to the speakers. The equipment was supported on our Torlyte AV Rack.

Don’t forget to keep in touch...

Become a fan on facebook www.facebook.com/russandrews.accessories

Connect with us on Instagram http://instagram.com/russandrewsaccessories

Follow us on twitter www.twitter.com/russandrewshifi

See us on Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/russandrewshifi

6 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 31 Summer 2015

New Products

NEW PRODUCTS

NEW Torlyte® Plat for your PowerBlock We’ve been asked quite a number of times to make a special Torlyte Platform for supporting our PowerBlock, and we’ve had very good feedback from those customers who have ordered them. In fact, the reaction was so positive that we’ve decided to add this smaller platform to the Torlyte range. The Torlyte PowerBlock Plat is also ideal for supporting our mains conditioners such as the Ultra Purifier and the Abzorber.

The Torlyte PowerBlock Plat is 340mm wide and 150mm deep, and is fitted as standard with Spiked Feet. If desired, our wooden Cone Feet can be fitted on request, as pictured above.

NEW Internal Superfuses™

60 DAY IN HOME

TRIAL Code: 4078

Torlyte® PowerBlock Plat with Spiked Feet £134.00 with Big Cone feet £159.00

We’ve been asked many times whether we could Super Burn In the 20mm internal fuses commonly fitted to equipment. We have succeeded in processing several values and our tests showed that there was a big improvement in the performance of every bit of kit we fitted them to. CD players and amplifiers all gave the same sorts of improvements that our mains plug SuperFuses give – better bass, cleaner treble and a far more musical sound.

Internal SuperFuses are available as fast blow fuses only and in values of 2A, 3.15A, 4A and 5A. Look out for other values being added to the website in the future.

60 DAY IN HOME

TRIAL Russ Andrews Code: 1023 SuperFuse™ Fastblow Available in ratings of:

2A, 3.15A, 4A, 5A

£25.00 each

Issue 31 Summer 2015 CONNECTED MAGAZINE

7

NEW PRODUCTS

Want better sound from your USB device?

You need a PowerPak Pro-USB™ PowerPak Pro-USB is the latest incarnation of our PowerPak Pro DC power supply. A very high performance DC power supply, PowerPak Pro-USB is specifically designed to improve the performance of USB audio devices.

At its simplest, PowerPak Pro-USB can be used as the ultimate power supply for devices that are powered by a separate 5V DC USB power supply. Examples of these are the Meridian Director DAC, HRT iStreamer and Arcam drDock iPod dock.

The PowerPak Pro powers to these via USB from its USB output.

But the PowerPak Pro-USB really comes into its own when used with USB audio devices that do not have their own separate power supply. In these cases, the USB DAC typically gets its power from your computer’s power supply; PowerPak Pro-USB replaces this power supply, delivering significantly better sound quality.

power from your computer is transferred via USB to the PowerPak Pro-USB where the power is replaced by the stable, clean supply and along with the signal is transferred to the USB device. It’s a simple but incredibly effective way of improving performance.

Here’s how it works: instead of connecting your USB device directly to your computer, it instead connects to the PowerPak Pro-USB. This in turn connects via USB to your computer (the PowerPak Pro-USB also connects to the mains via its own power cable). Signal and IEC mains input, suitable for all worldwide voltages

Read the review of the standard PowerPak Pro on page 23

8 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 31 Summer 2015

USB output USB input

NEW PRODUCTS

Incorporates Kimber Kap and Panasonic audio grade capacitors Very high performance Russ Andrews upgraded 60W switch-mode power supply, delivering 5V 12A

Fitted with Silencer mains filter and wired internally with Kimber Kable

Meridian Audio Director DAC (not included)

Impact and fireresistant ABS casework

Dimensions: 80mm x 58mm x 160mm WHD

Where do I use it?

USB carrying signal from computer and power from PowerPak Pro USB

PowerPak Pro USB USB carrying signal & power from computer

USB device

Use it with this...

PowerPak Pro is fitted with a USB type-A output and a USB type-B input. USB cables are not included. An IEC mains input allows you to connect your choice of mains cable (not included). We recommend PowerMax Plus, or better.

PowerMax Plus mains cable

Kimber B-Bus USB cable

Code: 1530

Code: 2800

1m 1.5m

£55.95 £70.45

Amplifier

USB carrying clean signal to system

0.5m 1m

£43.00 £52.00

PowerPak Pro USB™ Code: 1897 £319.00 2 year guarantee

Issue 30 Spring 2015 CONNECTED MAGAZINE

9

FEATURE

BECOME AN EXPERT...

Optimising your Grounding Russ Andrews explains his tried and tested technique for optimising grounding in a Hi-Fi or Home Cinema system.

It is clearly crucial in any guide to improving your grounding that the basic practical difference is explained between earthing and grounding. The two are often confused and it helps to understand what each does.

Earthing

is a safety technique used in some mainspowered Hi-Fi equipment. I say ‘some’ because much of the equipment manufactured in the last 25 or 30 years has been ‘double insulated’ where the outer case you see is not connected to any mainsconnected part. The case is ‘floating’ and may be plastic or metal. The mains power supply is isolated within its own insulated shield. The mains inlet is probably a two-pin IEC or figure8 socket, but it may be a threepin socket with the earth pin not connected internally. Power amps or integrated amps are usually conventional three-pin sockets with the earth connected. Source equipment and preamps are now usually double insulated two-pin mains connectors.

Earthing is for safety!

Earthed equipment should always be connected to your earthed ring main (I will discuss the quality of that earth some other time!).

10 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 31 Summer 2015

Grounding, on the other hand, is for the signal. Signal ground is the outer part of a phono plug; signal positive is the centre pin. Both must be connected for a signal to flow.

Signal ground is usually connected inside the equipment to the earth point, but not always and not at all if it is a double insulated design. Here the signal finds its ground through the connecting wires to

“I have known for very many years that grounding casework has a generally beneficial effect on dynamic range & bass depth”

whatever is earthed in the system. This is starting to get complicated – I’ll try to keep it simple. A system like this works fine within quality limitations, but it is a real compromise. A compromise that is surprisingly big even in a modest system.

What if we take a step towards breaking that compromise?...

A step that doesn’t involve opening up the casework and getting creative with a soldering

iron? How can that work, you may ask?

I have known for very many years that grounding casework has a generally beneficial effect on dynamic range, bass depth etc., and we have fitted grounding terminals on our PowerBlock , wall sockets etc for much of that time. The requirements of the new 17th wiring regulations introduced in 2008 forced us to rethink the technique of directly connecting earth spikes to the house ring earth, as this was outlawed.

Talking to Ben Duncan about the problem revealed that he could see a way to connect an earth spike effectively but legally and also see a second benefit in incorporating a more effective RFI dumping circuit in the design. Ben’s circuit is frequencyoptimised to make an easy route for RFI to exit equipment chassis down to ground… hence the name RF Router for the product.

RF Router Code: 1898 £189

FEATURE

“The benefits of grounding the signal this way are profound” Tests proved the efficacy of the device and we proceeded to experiment with ways to get the most benefit from it in any system. We began with my own big system and that of my old friend Chris. He is a retired gentleman of means, time and with an insatiable curiosity. Plus, of course, his great love and knowledge of music. Chris experimented with every possible combination of connecting everything together with ground wires and routers over many months and finally came to some very important conclusions.

First, getting it right was very, very important. Small differences in exactly what is connected to what, in what order, were very important.

Second, the effects were stable, repeatable and predicable.

Third: although his first priority was the musical effects, Chris could see the effects in the picture projected on his Home Cinema screen.

Fourth, he had turned years of grounding ‘black magic’ insecurity into a relaxed certainty that his grounding was ‘good’.

I took that knowledge

and tested it on very simple, modest systems to prove that it was a general solution to correct grounding rather than just specific to a very special complex system. And it was!

Fortunately, the correct grounding path is very simple.

The preamp or integrated amp is the hub and all sources connect directly to it. The preamp is connected directly to the power amp which is connected via the router to the ring main earth or a ground spike outside. You may experiment with adding a ground wire direct from the preamp to the router; it may be beneficial.

If you have speakers with driver chassis ground connections, connect them both directly to the RF Router.

We’ve introduced another RF Router to the range with a third binding post to make it easier to connect additional pieces of equipment, such as your preamp or your speakers.

Sound Benefits The benefits of grounding the signal this way are profound. At first listen, you will be struck by how much lower the bass goes, how much tighter and cleaner it is. Then by how much more articulate, how you can hear more easily the notes being played. Then you realise that the instrument has a defined character, tone and presence as a separate instrument. Next, you may be aware of the musician playing that instrument, his technique and musical skill.

What is true of bass instruments is true of every instrument and voice. Everyone seems to be playing better than you heard before. In a similar situation, a listener said to me “I didn’t know Eric Clapton could sing so well”.

This hits the nail on the head!

After hearing all those changes you may realise that the whole performance is so much more real, so much like being there.

Wow… don’t you want some of that?

Use ground wire such as our Technical Ground Weave, left, to connect your equipment casework together.

Issue 31 Summer 2015 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 11

FEATURE

BECOME AN EXPERT...

What to do

Grounding casework is very simple to achieve.

The basic components are some grounding wires, some means of connecting the wires to the casework, an RF Router and either a wall socket with earth terminal or an external earth spike.

Consult the diagrams, right, to get an idea of the connections you need to make.

To make wiring everything up easier, we have ready-made grounding wires and tags. To connect a ground wire to your casework, simply remove one of the casework screws (figure 1), fit a casework tag (figure 2) and refit the casework screw, securing the tag tight to the metal case. In our example, our Figure 1 casework is bare copper, but if the casework is painted, strip a little of the paint off before tightening the tag to ensure you are Figure 2 getting a good connection. Do this on each source, and fit a grounding tag to the preamp, or to your integrated amp.

The grounding wires (which are fitted with the appropriate spades) simply push on to the tags (figure 3) and connect everything together; they are easily removed if you need to move or rearrange anything.

You’ll see that the Figure 3 grounding wires have a stackable spade (figure 4) which makes it easy

12 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 31 Summer 2015

to connect multiple wires to a single chassis tag at the preamp / integrated amp (figure 5).

Figure 4

If you have a preamp and power amp combination, fit more chassis tags to them and connect a Figure 5, Showing two grounding ground wire wires connected to the chassis tag between them.

Finally, connect a wire from your amplifier to the RF Router, and one to the earth terminal on your socket or to your earth spike.

While the basic wires and tags give a good connection, for ultimate performance you can opt to fit our Technical Ground Weave and matching tags. These tags offer a banana socket to match the banana fitted to the technical ground weave (figure 6).

It’s worth opting for this bigger weave on the final link from your Figure 6 power amp/ integrated amp and the RF Router, and from the RF Router to the grounding point on your wall socket (or outside to your external grounding spike). I must stress the importance of using the RF Router; the sound is so much better with it inline than without it – and you must never connect an external spike directly to the mains earth.

FEATURE

Connecting it all together RADIO

CD PLAYER A

DVD

A

A

SKY

If grounding your system with Grounding Wire, choose a pack of tags and as many Grounding Wires as you need. The Grounding wires have different terminations depending on where you are using them; consult our diagrams, left, to ensure you choose the correct termination type.

TURNTABLE A

A

RF ROUTER C

B

INTEGRATED AMP

Type A

How to connect the casework grounds to an integrated amp.

If using the Grounding Wire, use type ‘A’ cables between the sources and amp, type ‘B’ between the amp and router and type ‘C’ between the RF Router and your earth terminal / spike.

If you are using Technical Ground Weave, use the chassis ground banana adaptors on your sources and amplifier and Connect the technical Ground Weave to them. Although we’ve shown the grounding wires going to one point on the integrated amp, you can use more than one chassis screw and Chassis Ground Banana Adaptor.

RADIO

CD PLAYER A

DVD

A

A

SKY

TURNTABLE

A

A

Type B

Type C Grounding Wire Code: 1092 0.5m £9.00 0.75m £10.00 1.0m £11.00 Please specify whether you need wire A, B or C. Chassis Tags Code: 3196 pack of 10 £4.00

PREAMP RF ROUTER

A POWERAMP

C

B

Connecting the casework grounds to a preamp and power amp.

If you are using a separate preamp and power amp, the principle is the same – but use the preamp as the grounding ‘hub’ for your sources. Then link the preamp to the power amp and the power amp to your RF Router (and experiment linking the preamp to the Router).

DCT SuperSocket with earth terminal Code: 1803 Single with earth £37.00 Double with earth £42.00 UltraSocket Code: 1901 with earth terminal Double faceplate with earth £99.00

If grounding your system with Technical Ground Weave, choose as many Chassis Ground Banana Adaptors as you need. The Technical Ground Weave is terminated with bananas to fit into the Chassis Ground Banana Adaptors.

Technical Ground Weave Code: 1091 0.5m £19.50 0.75m £21.75 1.0m £24.00

Chassis Ground Banana Adaptor Code: 3197 £12.50

Issue 31 Summer 2015 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 13

WHAT’S IN A CABLE?

Kimber’s Silver Streak interconnect John Armer looks at one of Kimber’s best-value cables, the Silver Streak analogue interconnect For me, Kimber’s Silver Streak analogue interconnects offer masses of ‘sound-perpound‘. Why? Because careful use of materials coupled with Kimber’s famous woven cable design means you get bags of performance for a price that’s surprisingly affordable.

Where does it fit in Kimber’s range?

Kimber’s range of analogue interconnects – the type you would use to connect your CD player to your integrated amplifier, or your preamp to your power amp – fall into three basic groups.

The first is the tri-braid cables, each featuring three conductors per channel, braided together. The second group is the Hero interconnects with four braided conductors.

Finally, there’s the range topping Kimber Select group, featuring their most advanced design and conductor purity.

The other conductors are pure copper – similar to those used in the all-copper Timbre and Hero-Cu cables. This use of different conductors is a Kimber theme – they use mixed conductors in some of their other interconnects and speaker cables, which results in a very high performance cable without the cost of an allsilver cable.

Some other manufacturers use plated conductors. Our experience is that plated conductors aren’t stable because the interface between the plating and the conductors degrades comparatively quickly. That’s why Kimber’s cables are either pure copper, pure silver or – as with Silver Streak – consist of both pure copper and pure silver conductors.

Kimber Silver Streak is near the top of the tri-braid range, with only KCAG above it in terms of performance.

What goes into it?

The reason Kimber’s Silver Streak is one of the best-value interconnects is due to its clever use of different conductor materials to transfer the signal.

The key signal conductor is made of Kimber’s pure silver – the exact same conductor used in their top of the range KCAG and Hero-Ag interconnects. Silver can be worked to a very high performance finish and the best mains, interconnects and speaker cables are made with Kimber’s silver wire.

Price

Performance A subjective comparison of the Kimber interconnects 14 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 31 Summer 2015

WHAT’S IN A CABLE?

Get connected

Lets twist again

Silver Streak uses Kimber’s UltraPlate phono connectors for an effective connection. They sound clean, clear and neutral.

Kimber’s braided cable design couldn’t be clearer than in Silver Streak with its silver conductor easily visible weaving in and out of the other two copper conductors in their black insulation. It’s this woven design, along with the high purity conductors, that give the cable its very high performance.

A balanced version fitted with XLRs is available. In the balanced versions of the cable, there are two silver conductors and a single copper conductor which accounts for the difference in price.

Where is it happiest?

Silver Streak is perfect for a real upgrade in sound.

In a simple system, use it between your CD player or streamer and your integrated amplifier for a smooth, neutral and musical sound. If you have a bigger system, use it between your source and your preamp, and between preamps and power amps. Because the different Kimber interconnects share conductors and geometries, you can quite happily mix Silver Streak with other interconnects from the Kimber stable in your system.

Up to 100% back when you upgrade

UPGRADE SCHEME

If you already use Kimber’s Tonik, Timbre or Hero-Cu interconnects bought from us, you can get money back for them when you upgrade to Silver Streak. If they’re within one year old, you will receive up to 100% back!

For more information on our Upgrade Scheme, please contact us on 01539 797300 or visit russandrews.com/upgrade

Hi-Fi Choice Recommended

“Imaging is precise over a broad spread and there’s no hint of colouration. A very fine cable indeed.”

60 DAY IN HOME

TRIAL

Kimber Silver Streak™ Code: 2060 0.5m £221.00 1.0m £368.00 Balanced version

£352.00 £630.00

0.5m 1.0m

Want even better performance?

Specify Super Burn-in™

Add £100

Request Mini-Zaps™ to be fitted

Add £102

Issue 31 Summer 2015 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 15

The path to musical enlightenment

CUSTOMER SYSTEM

Phil Hansen, our PR consultant, spent an afternoon in the delightful company of Russ Andrews customer James Weston, exploring his journey through the Upgrade Path.

James thought his friend was mad. He knew about the importance of using quality cable, but his friend had a very low cost hi-fi (the speakers were £50 from eBay) and was very proud of the ‘special’ speaker cable used to connect them to the amplifier.

the fact that this inexpensive system sounded great, so musical, so engaging and yet it was wired with these crazy plaited wires. “Try this on your Zeppelin”, said James’s friend, handing him a yellow-coloured kettle lead [our YellO Power mains James with his system which sits under the TV cable] that seemed to have the same woven design.

He returned home and plugged the banana-coloured lead into the back of his B&W Zeppelin, his sole source of music at the time, selected a track and instantly knew he didn’t want to give it back! Intrigued and in need of more of the amazing improvement it made, James took the plunge and contacted Russ Andrews. His conversation with John resulted in his purchasing a Reference PowerKord™ (now replaced with the PowerKord300™ with Cryogenic Treatment that took the place of the YellO and started his journey on the Russ Andrews Upgrade Path.

This ‘special’ cable was home made, from Cat-3 computer cable. Lots of it, woven in a crisscross pattern like plaited hair.

Very odd and a little Heath Robinson thought James, but oh, how sweet the system sounded.

He was entranced, “how can such a cheap system sound so nice?”

His friend, who had a limited budget, hence the homemade cables, mentioned a company in The Lake District that sold a woven cable from Kimber Kable. James hadn’t heard of either company, but his friend said he’d based his design on the cables he James says he really wanted B&W Zeppelin with the Reference ‘melted’ at the to purchase, PowerKord and Silencer. difference the but couldn’t afford at the time, Reference cable made. A further because he knew what they upgrade to a Signature could do for the sound.

PowerKord™ (now replaced with There was no getting away from the PowerKord-500™) brought 16 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 31 Summer 2015

“James quips, “I visit hi-fi shows and listen to the systems on demonstration so that I can go home and enjoy mine more.” about a staggering improvement, in fact he was honest (and man) enough to admit he got quite emotional at the sublime sounds coming out of his hitherto beautiful but purely functional Zeppelin. While the Zeppelin now resides in the kitchen, powered by the Reference, he has vowed never to trade in the Reference cable – it was his first purchase and it opened his eyes as to what an improvement upgrades can make.

Having only an all-in-one iPod Dock, he started the Upgrade Path right where Russ recommends: with the mains. He bought Silencers, Zapperators, SuperClamps and proceeded to

CUSTOMER SYSTEM

“filter it to hell”. The lure of better music led him to realise he did need to invest in a ‘proper’ hi-fi system, consisting of an Arcam Solo Mini CD/ tuner/ amplifier - “It just sounded so musical”, a Rega RP3 turntable and a pair of Monitor Audio RX6 speakers.

The system sounds sublime. It’s so musical and really lets you in to the performance, in a way that many far more costly systems simply fail to do. James quips, “I visit hi-fi shows and listen to the systems on demonstration so that I can go home and enjoy mine more.”

A separate mains spur feeds the hi-fi and the earths are all connected to a ground spike via the Russ Andrews RF Router.

Clarity Mains products prevail throughout, which James says are exceptional products. Mains cables include Signatures and a Signature SuperKord SD-II (now the SuperKord-500 SD-II) with Super Burn-in Plus, and the Rega turntable power supply and phono stage has been upgraded using an AC24 power supply.

Round the back of the system we found MiniZaps, Kimber Select KS-1021 interconnects, Cone Feet and a Torlyte Platform. Shorties are connected to the unused RCA sockets and Russ Andrews Crystal 24 speaker cable (now replaced with Kimber 12TC), also treated with Super Burn-in, sits on Cable Elevators. The speakers are single wired, but the bi-wire links had been replaced with 8TC jumpers and speaker Zapperators were plugged in to the spare sockets.

In a modern detached house, with a young family and a wife,

Marie, who describes her husband’s interaction with his hi-fi as “obsessive”, the need to retain and keep domestic harmony is very important.

James has spent a good deal of time carefully placing his cables and mains products so they don’t interfere with the aesthetic of the room. As he puts it, “There’s a way to be a secret audiophile.”

Clarity Mains sit under the Torlyte platform which supports the ARCAM Solo Mini

Marie does, however, concede that the upgrades James has made to his system are worth it, “I can hear the difference when he makes an upgrade and did once buy him a mains cable for his Christmas present.”

We asked James what was the single biggest improvement he’s made and if there was only one thing he was allowed to retain what would it be? “The biggest improvement,” he said, “was the Signature PowerKord on the Zeppelin. But if there’s one thing I wouldn’t give up it has to be the Signature SuperKord SD-II.” And what’s next for James? “You can’t ever have enough Clarity products, they make voices individual and so emotional and you can hear the singers breathing.” he says. But when pushed to make a decision it’s the speakers. “I’ll never change my speakers, they were the best I auditioned out of many, many models, but the ultimate thing for me will be to send them to Russ Andrews to be upgraded.”

Thank you James for sharing your system with us and to Marie for letting us into your home. We look forward to returning once the speakers have been done… ■

Behind the system, showing the Crystal-24 speaker cable

LP Statcap on the turntable

8TC jumper cables & Crystal-24 speaker cable Issue 31 Summer 2015 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 17

FEATURE

Are you plagued by buzzes, hums and clicks?

We’re regularly asked for advice on curing a multitude of noises you hear through and from your Hi-Fi. These fall into several common categories: buzzes, hums, and clicks and pops. Each is discussed below.

BUZZES Buzzes are mechanical in nature – they are heard from equipment, not through the speakers. The problem often fluctuates in level at different times of the day. Buzzes are often caused by equipment transformers reacting to mains noise and voltage fluctuations - in this case our mains filters can help but they can be caused by vibrating casework too and that‘s what we’re looking at here:

CLICKS & POPS Clicks and pops are heard through your speakers.

They are usually caused by thermostats in fridges and freezers and central heating systems switching on and off.

They can also be caused by light switches and fluorescent strips arcing as they switch on and off.

18 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 31 Summer 2015

SOLUTIONS 3 Damp equipment casework. You can do this by fitting our sound deadening pads internally, or The Damper externally. They’ll stop casework rattles and make transformer buzz less intrusive.

Bitumastic SD pad Code: 5701 £9.50 Foil backed sound deadening pad Code: 5702 £22.40 The Damper Code: 5700 £16.80 small, £22.40 large 3 Fit our wooden Cone Feet to help dissipate the vibration from the casework.

Big Cone Feet Code: 4220 £25 3 If you feel confident with a little equipment DIY, you may be able to remove the bolt securing the transformer to the equipment chassis and put a rubber pad between the transformer and the base of the equipment casing.

SOLUTIONS 3 Fit our contact suppressor and VDR across the terminals of the thermostat to cure the click at source.

Contact Suppressor and VDR kit Code: 5785 £9.50 3 Fit our high performance electronic starter to fluorescent lights to cure the clicks put out by them.

Electronic starter Code: 5780 £8.30

FEATURE

HUMS A hum could be constant or cyclical in nature and often heard through the speakers.

The most common causes of hums are noisy mains caused by household appliances, mains noise from outside your house – eg power lines, radio stations, factories and your neighbours.

They are also caused by using the incorrect signal cabling or poorly fitting signal cable plugs and, finally, poor earthing.

Common Sources of mains noise • • • • • •

Motorised Equipment Washing machines Vacuum cleaners Refrigerators Power tools etc.

Electronic Devices: Computers and computer peripherals, televisions sets, video recorders, stereo systems, radios, fluorescent lights, digital clocks, battery chargers for cordless drills, digital dimmer switches etc.

SOLUTIONS 3 Unless you are using our woven PowerKords, avoid running mains cables and signal cables alongside each other. If you must cross cables, try doing so at 90º.

3 Use the correct interconnect for the job. Many powered subwoofers and valve amps need a Cadence subwoofer cable Code: 3102 £138 3m shielded cable. In these cases use Kimber’s cadence subwoofer cable or our CC1shielded analogue interconnects between your amplifiers.

3 Ensure all your connections are clean CC1 interconnect Code: 2070 £99 0.5m pair and tight – this goes for mains plugs and wiring (even the wiring behind mains sockets – make sure you turn off the mains supply before removing a wall socket to check).

3 Ensure interconnect and speaker cable plugs are fully located – a loose signal connector can cause hums.

3 Improve your Hi-Fi system grounding – our guide on p10 will help with this.

3 Our mains filters – the Silencer, Mini Purifier and Ultra Purifier have all been developed to combat noisy mains. They bring large improvements in sound quality and Silencer Code: 1403 £52 reduce hum.

3 Don’t stack equipment directly on top of each other. EMF generated by the transformers can pollute the circuits of equipment above and below. Better still, site them on racks – Torlyte is best!

Torlyte® Platform Code: 4056 £184

Issue 31 Summer 2015 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 19

Your letters

LETTERS

Review of your PowerBlock

LETTER Win a Silencer mains filter, worth £52.00

STAR LETTER

Although possessing an extensive collection of both classical and popular CDs and recognising the format’s convenience over both tape and vinyl, I have never been fully convinced over its sound quality capabilities. My small collection of SACD, DVD-A and Blu-ray audio releases always deliver a far more immersive and emotional listening experience that is matched by only a handful of CDs in my possession.

I have ‘upgraded’ the CD player several times in my desire to achieve better sound and would be the first to admit that, although some changes were better than others, none delivered the game changing experience I was after.

Most of my previous purchases from Russ Andrews Accessories have been limited to replacement mains cables and the acquisition of a PowerBar. Whilst all delivered subtle improvements over the products they replaced, my doubts over CD sound quality remained. In fact I have even contemplated re-investing in tape and vinyl sources but have been dissuaded by a) cost and b) the future potential offered by high resolution digital downloads.

Having recently cashed in some savings and been sent advance notice of the Russ Andrews

20

STAR

CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 31 Summer 2015

The PowerBlock - from £500

Winter 2014 sale, I decided that now was the time to invest in a decent mains distribution block, hence my purchase of the above item.

Once all equipment was connected I switched everything on, left it 30 minutes to warm up and played the first CD of many that evening. The results were nothing short of a revelation.

Gone was the hard edged, grainy and sometimes muddy twodimensional sound of many CDs to be replaced by something more akin to high resolution digital or, dare I say it, quality vinyl. The sound I have spent decades searching for is now a reality.

In summary, the following differences were immediately apparent: 1. Much lower noise floor 2. Deeper and more tuneful bass 3. Smoother but more extended treble 4. Significant increase in transparency 5. Three dimensional soundstage perceived on many recordings

Want to share your experiences with our readers? Or simply want advice? Write to us! We’ll publish the best, funniest and most interesting in each issue of Connected.

The writer of this issue’s Star Letter receives a Silencer, worth £52.00 Get in touch at: connected@russandrews.com or write to us at: Connected, Russ Andrews Accessories, 2b Moreland Court, Westmorland Business Park, Kendal, Cumbria, LA9 6NS, UK.

Such is the improvement to the sound that I am now wondering whether I should have also ordered UltraSockets and silver wiring, but then the cost of replacement silver cables would have been prohibitive.

In conclusion, this is the most significant upgrade I have ever made and would not hesitate in recommending this to others who use CD as a primary source.

Roger Lucas, Bedfordshire While there are undoubtedly benefits to be had with high resolution audio, in a properly set up system, CD is still capable of delivering very high sound quality.

JA.

Mains conditioning next steps I have bought Russ Andrews PowerMax mains cables for my CD/amp/power amp and I am very pleased with the results. I am

LETTERS

operating these off a Tacima mains extension which also has had a very positive effect on clarity.

Mindful I can probably get further definition from my system (Arcam/Rega/Kef/Arcam DAC etc) I was looking at possibly getting a Russ Andrews mains filter. I am however confused of the relative merits of the Mini Purifier versus the Clarity Mains products. Note my mains uses powerline adaptors for some pc network distribution.

Please can you advise your thoughts on best step forward.

David Liming, by e-mail Thank you for your e-mail. We have produced a guide to using our mains filters: you can download it here:

A balancing act Russ Andrews customer Vic Brash recently took delivery of one of our top-of-the-range Balanced Mains Unit – the BMU3000. Vic sent us a picture of its installation – and very good it looks too. Said Vic: “I have now amassed some 500 hours running in both the Balanced Mains 3000 and its Russ Andrews PowerKords - both its mains supply and the feeds to all my equipment. I also took the opportunity to fit 13A SuperFuses to all cables and also fitted just one Russ Andrews UltraSocket to replace the two existing switched double wall sockets.

The results have been out of all proportion to what I was expecting. The BMU 3000 is now ‘centre stage’ as the central supply hub to my entire system and onwards to an X4 extension box as well. Such clarity and depth of audio is remarkable, and further transformed my system to ‘stellar heights’ of fulsome audio reproduction. The support I always receive from the team on technical concerns goes way back to 2008 and is very much appreciated. Once again ‘good on you’ Russ Andrews!”

Vic Brash, by e-mail

http://www.russandrews.com/dow nloads/FilterYourMainsArticleCon nected30.pdf I think in your situation you would be best off using a MiniPurifier, and your system would even justify using the UltraPurifier. We know the Tacima block and while it has undoubtedly given you improvements, we do tend to stay away from the type of inline filtration it provides. Try one of our mains filters both in the Tacima block and in another, non-filtered mains extension (even just a basic white one) and see which one you prefer - you might find that the sound is even better if you use one of our filters in a basic extension! JA.

Balanced Mains Unit 3000 is shown bottom, left, powering Vic’s home cinema system.

MiniPurifier - £151 Issue 31 Summer 2015 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 21

OPINION

Dalton’s Deliberations

Spoilt for choice?

Not wanting to be accused of constantly living in the dark ages, I recently purchased an audio streamer to add to my ageing system. Life would now be bliss: here, at my fingertips, would be thousands of tracks for instant access. Never again would I have to waste precious time searching through my CD collection looking for something to play. At the touch of my smartphone screen, my whole music collection would be there for me to enjoy without the distraction of ever having to leave my seat. Hmm...

One of the key benefits we are sold about streaming is its convenience and ability to widen the choice of music we have access to. Choice, we are lead to believe, is an incremental benefit: the more we have the better. This always goes without challenge and is always portrayed as a huge advantage.

But is it?

In an interesting book that Russ wandered in with recently – The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz – the author states that, although greater choice is generally a good thing, “as the number of choices keep growing, negative aspects of having a multitude of options begin to appear. As the number of choices grows further, the negatives escalate until we become overloaded. At this point, choice no longer liberates, but debilitates”.

Such a view supports the argument put forward in the 22 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 31 Summer 2015

Write to Simon at - simondalton@russandrews.com

highly influential book Nudge by Thaler & Sunstein. Here the authors argue that, far from being the rational homo economicus, or economic man, espoused by traditional economics, we are actually pretty irrational when it comes to making decisions and often prefer easier options as opposed to unlimited choice.

“We are actually pretty irrational when it comes to making decisions and often prefer easier options as opposed to unlimited choice”

When it comes to music, I couldn’t agree more. I have subscribed to Spotify Premium for some time now, which offers even more choice than my streamer. The trouble is that in practice I find I actually end up being overcome by all the options and end up listening to quite a limited selection of music. Yes, there’s no end of other material I could listen to but when I start to investigate this I invariably end up an hour later having played the first 30 seconds of god knows how many tracks and I’m still no further with a decision.

I suspect this is one of the reasons for the upsurge in vinyl sales that we are experiencing. Here the experience is almost the complete antithesis of streaming. Yes, there’s

the initial choice that has to be made but that’s immediately limited by my own collection.

And once that choice has been made the very nature of the playback method means that I will tend to sit and listen to at least one side before changing to something else.

This has an interesting side-effect too: you get to know your music collection better because you dedicate time to listening to one album. I remember when I was young, you would save up and buy a record – maybe even just a single 45 – and play it until it almost wore out! This lack of choice inadvertently deepened your appreciation of the music because you spent more time getting to know it. I lost count of the number of albums that on first listen I didn’t like at all yet became favourites simply because I kept listening. You have to be really disciplined to do that even with a CD, let alone a streamer, simply because it’s so easy to choose something else.

Barry Schwartz suggests a methodology for choosing to limit our own choices in order to redress the balance and deplete some of the stress caused by too much choice. It’s too long to go into here, but suffice to say that the general principle is well worth consideration: if music is not to become a superficial aspect of our lives we need to be more discerning – and limited – in what we choose to listen to. ■

Reviews

REVIEWS

Keep up to date with new reviews in our news section at www.russandrews.com/news

PowerPak Pro™ Review by Neville Roberts - Hi-Fi Choice

Our impressive PowerPak Pro power supply was reviewed in the May edition of Hi-Fi Choice magazine. And according to Neville Roberts it’s “one of the best power supplies I’ve tried”!

He tests the PowerPak Pro on his Squeezebox Touch, using a variety of file types.

Starting with a CD quality recording of Vivaldi’s Paris Concerto 11, he immediately notices that “the sound with the PowerPak Pro is definitely smoother and has better imaging with a noticeably wider soundstage”. In terms of the musical performance, the piece becomes more engaging as “the strings become smooth and well positioned, with much greater clarity and realism”.

The effect of the upgraded supply becomes ever more obvious with the move up to hi-res WAV files. Listening to Michael Kaeshammer’s rendition of On The Sunny Side Of The Street, “the piano is much more believable and there is a real tightening up of the bass, making it more extended and musical”.

As a final most critical test he uses a 24/48 FLAC recording of The Dunedin Consort’s performance of J. S. Bach’s Mass in B minor. The reason for this, he argues, is that choral music such as this can be very revealing of a system’s limitations, with a propensity for voices to become muddled and unclear. However, switching to the PowerPak Pro he found that it “unscrambles the performer’s voices from the choral mush that [he] had previously experienced”. “There is an increased sense”, he continues, “that the choir is comprised of a collection of soloists, rather than being a bland Russ Andrews PowerPak Pro ensemble of musicians”.

Verdict:

His experience with the PowerPak Pro reflects our own tests and he concludes with the concise comment that “the PowerPak Pro makes huge improvements to the sound and is certainly one of the best power supplies I have tried”.

RECOMMENDED Price: £299 Magazine: Hi-Fi Choice Issue: May 2015

Issue 31 Summer 2015 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 23

Cabasse Stream Source

REVIEWS

If you are looking to dip your toe in the world of music streaming, Cabasse have a user-friendly device that sounds good and won’t break the bank.

Reviewed in the May 2015 edition of What Hi-Fi? Sound & Vision magazine, this little device comes out well as a first foray into streaming or a simply solution for a multiroom or second system.

The Stream Source simply hooks up to your existing amp via either analogue or optical outputs and plays files from your home network, Bluetooth or a USB stick. It supports major “formats such as WMA, AAC and MP3” as well as “high-res WAV and FLAC files up to 24-bit/96kHz”. And the good news is that it manages to produce a good sound from all of these: “The Cabasse’s sound is an enjoyable one: balanced, full bodied and more than happy rustling up detail and organisation whether it’s a 24-bit/96kHz WAV or low-res Spotify file”.

It’s not over harsh either, as can often be the case with modern digital kit. Playing The Cure’s Just Like Heaven can be a bit wearing but “the Cabasse’s controlled treble is a godsend when the cymbals start thrashing”.

Moving onto something more relaxed in the form of Norah Jones, “her distinct vocals are clear and focused, the Cabasse drawing out enough nuance to be convincing”, leading them to conclude that the unit has an “enthusiastic delivery” with a “balanced, detailed sound”.

When it comes to streaming devices, it’s also vital that the app you use to control the unit from your phone or tablet – the default remote devices for most components nowadays – is intuitive and easy to use. Fortunately, Cabasse Stream Source Cabasse has a superb new control app called StreamCONTROL which Verdict: £299 is free on both IOS and Android platforms. This makes it simple to find Price: Magazine: What Hi-Fi Sound & Vision your stored music and along with instant access to Spotify and Issue: May 2015 Deezer, gives you a world of music at your fingertips.

Ooops...

Review by Roy Gregory - hifiplus magazine

Back in June 2013 Hi-Fi Plus magazine celebrated its 100th issue and contributors were asked to pick out “The most important Hi-Fi of the last 99 issues.” Although we reported it on our website at the time, it fell between two issues of Connected, so here we are to right the wrong!

We were delighted to read that the very first piece was a commentary

by Roy Gregory on his review of our mains products back in Jan/ Feb 2001. In that review, Roy tested a range of our products, including our PowerKords, filters and the fitting of a Hi-Fi ringmain wired with our woven ringmain cable. Roy calls this the 'Russ Andrews Audio Quality Mains Supply'.

24 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 31 Summer 2015

A selection of our mains products, ...what Roy Gregory refers to as the 'Russ Andrews Audio Quality Mains Supply'.

What’s interesting, looking back at the original review, is just how much Roy ‘got’ what it is all about. This is not simply a review of one or two products in isolation but a complete overview of how our PowerKords, mains filters and extensions work together as a system and the fundamental improvements they can bring to the enjoyment and appreciation of your music collection.

Commenting on his original review, Roy stated that "this was the first time that I ever really considered the AC power source as the system’s raw material.

Once you grasp that concept then the vital importance of the mains quality becomes selfevident ... Improving it will in turn produce a dramatic improvement in the audio performance of your system."

Russ was one of the very first to realise this and it’s what motivated him to leave the comfort of his own respected Hi-Fi dealership to research further into the issue and develop the range of products tested in this review. This is something that Roy Gregory clearly admires and respects, and is the reason why he chose to pick out the review as a key step in the development of Hi-Fi over the years since Hi-Fi+ has been appearing on the newsstand.

“What is now accepted wisdom was once considered ‘dangerously tweaky’ and Russ Andrews is to be applauded for not only drawing our attention to this fundamental aspect of system performance, but for providing sensible, costeffective and practical advice on the subject”.

Just a note...

Thanks Roy – it’s nice to be appreciated!

In the last issue of Connected we published part of a review from The Absolute Sound about Kimber‘s Select 6000 series of interconnects and speaker cables. You can read the full review at: tinyurl.com/mnafdyq

One of us!

ONE OF US

Name: John Holmes Job: Despatch and manufacturing Time with us: 10 Years John became part of the Russ Andrews team back in 2004 and many of you will have spoken to him on the phone since: John is the person who gives you a ring if you’ve asked to be contacted before we despatch your order.

The core of his daily routine is taken up with organising and despatching orders. Ensuring that orders get to the right customers at the right time is no mean feat, especially given the number of parcels that go out of our door every day. “It should be straightforward” he says, “but very rarely is!” That’s where his years of experience come in, because John can draw on his extensive knowledge of our product range to ensure customers get what they need, even if that’s not necessarily what they ordered. For example, his sixth sense will alert him if an order doesn’t look ‘quite right’ and he’ll alert the sales team to contact the customer to check it out. And do you know; invariably he’s right!

In between all this John also helps out in manufacturing, and is skilled in making many items in our range, from PowerKords to mains filters. This provides a break from the daily routine too and is an aspect of the job he enjoys: “There’s always a feeling of accomplishment when you see an order going out that you’ve made, especially when customers come back to us saying how much of an improvement it’s made to their system!”

Issue 31 Summer 2015 CONNECTED MAGAZINE

25

Competition

COMPETITION

WIN

What’s the most iconic piece of Hi-Fi?

Trawling the internet for interesting stories about Hi-Fi, you’ll regularly come across ‘Top Tens’: ‘The Top Ten Classic Turntables’, ‘Top Ten Ways to Improve Your Listening Room’, ’10 Ways to Improve Your Hi-Fi’ – you know the kind of thing...

Invariably, the ‘chart topper’ is controversial, and sometimes just plain bewildering!

Mains Zapperat

worth

or

£109

(though if you feel the muse take over, feel free!). Russ will pick his favourite from the entries and the winner will receive a Mains Zapperator worth £109 for their troubles.

When we were thinking about what to do for the competition in this edition of Connected, all this talk of Top Ten’s inspired us to ask you what you think is the most iconic piece of Hi-Fi equipment there’s ever been. Is it a specific turntable for example? Or is there and amplifier which you think changed the way we can listen to music?

Whatever it is, we’d really like to hear your suggestions and reasons why you chose them.

You don’t have to write a lot; a few lines will do

Send your entries to us, titled ‘Best Ever’, either by email to competition@russandrews.com or by post to Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2b Moreland Court, Westmorland Business Park, Shap Road, Kendal, LA9 6NS. Entries must be received

by Friday 26th June 2015 at the latest and the winner will be contacted by 10th July 2015. Russ’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Terms and Conditions 1. The closing day for entries is 26th June 2015 and the winner will be notified by 10th July 2015; 2. The rules of entry are given in the text of the competition; 3. No purchase necessary to enter; 4. There is one prize of a Mains Zapperator worth £109; 5.The prize is not transferable, cannot be exchanged for cash nor will a cash alternative be offered; 6. Our decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into; 7. We reserve the right to feature photographs and the names and counties of all entrants in future publications and publicity; 8. This promotion is not open to employees of Russ Andrews Accessories or their families, or anyone connected with the promotion; 9. The promoter is Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2b Moreland Court, Westmorland Business Park, Shap Road, Kendal, LA9 6NS, UK.

1

Congratulations!

Congratulations go to Mr A Souter of Portishead who correctly completed the crossword in the 30th edition of Connected. Mr Souter was picked at random from all the correct entries and wins a 0.75m Kimber HD-09 HDMI cable.

4

C O A

11

M T O R N O C L E

12

21

A

And if you entered our Competition Crossword in the last issue of Connected, here are the answers: 24

M

26 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 31 Summer 2015

S I X I A L E 8 9 U N I G C A L Y T E R W A Y 17 K A 19 T F L O V E S B O U R 23 S I E H N C E R I D I

2

K T I M B M B V E R S R 13 P O W 16 M E G R K O U P R E D

3

X

T Y

R E 5

W I C 10 L A L S L O I 14 B A L A N R A C L A M T 18 C E 20 L S A M E R L 22 E L V I T C Y T

7

A N A U D I O

6

R A A T E R T L C E 15D E P L I B E R A T S I O N S

And finally....

AND FINALLY

theaudiophileman.com We were very pleased to welcome reviewer Paul Rigby who recently spent a day with us here at RAHQ. Paul wanted to get under the skin of what Russ Andrews Accessories is all about and of course the only way to do this successfully is to see us in person. So it was that on a sunny day in April Paul made the long trek up to the Lake District to spend the day with us here at RAHQ and an evening spent with Russ, and Russ’s system.

Not having been to the area since his childhood, this was a double pleasure for Paul who has happy memories of holidays here with his parents.

He started with a series of recorded interviews with staff members – an ‘interesting’ experience for us all, never having had to put together a coherent sentence with a Russ with his system microphone in front of us before!

After this, Paul spent the rest of the day chatting with the man himself and learning much more about what has driven - and still drives - Russ to continue developing and offering the products he does.

The article Paul wrote on the back of his visit is not so much a description of what we do as to why we do it and investigates the genesis of the current Russ Andrews company. It is pretty extensive and makes fascinating reading - as one reader commented on Paul’s site; “it told me more about the company and the ethos of it than I had picked up before”.

John

Zac

Simon

You can read the full article by visiting his website at theaudiophileman.com.

Our reception area

Peter

Issue 31 Summer 2015 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 27

Return address: Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2b Moreland Court, Westmorland Business Park, Shap Road, Kendal LA9 6NS, UK.

Customer Number

Reference Code

SAVE 20% on these high-performance upgrades from Ringmat products

“For the price of 3 CDs it felt as if I had bought a new player... it's that good and I held off buying it because I was sceptical!

In short one of the best bargains you will EVER find” Mr P Di Petta, on CDi Blue

Statmat CDi Blue Plus

SAVE 20%

until 30th June 2015

Ringmat Gold Spot turntable mat Statmat CDi Blue

Was £33.60 Now £26.88

This top-of-the-range turntable mat can be used on its own or with other items in the Ringmat range. Either way, the performance is stunning. Code: 5029

Save £6.72

Was £78.00 Now £62.40

Code: 5120

The Statmat CDi Blue is an anti-static disc designed to sit on top of CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays.

Statmat CDi Blue Plus

Save £15.60 Code: 5121

Like the CDi but with a ‘sticky’ collar to prevent the Statmat becoming loose in the CD tray Was £45.00 Now £36.00

Save £9.00

www.russandrews.com Call UK Orderline 01539 797300 Int Tel +44 (0)1539 797300 Buy online at

Exclusive UK distributor

Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2b Moreland Court, Westmorland Business Park, Shap Road, Kendal LA9 6NS, UK.

Mail Order Direct • 60 Day Home Trial • Cable Upgrade Scheme • Free Delivery (orders over £100 within UK Mainland)